Zika virus in Rajasthan: Total number of cases rises to 61, those infected include 11 pregnant women

Jaipur: Six new cases of Zika virus were detected in Jaipur on Sunday, taking the total number of infected people to 61, a Rajasthan health department official said.

The figures were issued after a review meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Veenu Gupta.

Of the infected people, 11 are pregnantwomen, a source in the Union health ministry said.

The Centre will review the outbreak of Zika in the capital city of Rajasthan on Monday, the source said.

“Forty-five out of the total 60 patients are healthy after treatment,” the Rajasthan health department official said. Most of the cases which have been reported are from Shastri Nagar area where fogging and other anti-larvae activities are being carried out to prevent the spread of the virus.

Till Saturday, door-to-door survey at 76,000 households was conducted in Shastri Nagar and mosquito larvae was found and quarantined in nearly 64,000 households, the officer said.

The state health department has also issued an advisory for pregnant women staying outside the affected area to not visit Shastri Nagar.

The virus, transmitted through the aedes aegypti mosquito, causes fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain. It is harmful to pregnantwomen, as it can lead to microcephaly, a condition in which a baby’s head is significantly smaller than expected, in newborn children.

In India, the first outbreak was reported in Ahmedabad in January 2017 and the second in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district in July that year. Both these outbreaks were successfully contained through intensive surveillance and vector management.

The disease is under surveillance of the Union Health Ministry although it is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under WHO notification since 18 November, 2016.